1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk player using a magazine in which a plurality of disks are loaded in a stacked state for selecting the arbitrary disk out of the plurality of disks and playing the selected disk, and a disk chucking mechanism suitable for use in the disk player.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An example of this type of conventional disk player is one so adapted that a plate on which a disk is put is slid backward and forward or sideward and is pulled out from a magazine, to position the plate above or below a pickup in a player main body portion, and the disk on the plate is clamped by a disk chucking mechanism provided in the player main body portion to rotate the disk.
In the conventional structure, however, a space for pulling out the disk from the magazine must be ensured on the side of the disk player, and the space increases the size of the disk player.
Therefore, considered is a structure in which plates, each having a disk thereon, in steps above and steps below a plate of selected disk are respectively separated upward and downward without sliding the plate on which the selected disk is put, and a component equipped with a pickup and a disk chucking mechanism is moved into a magazine to clamp the selected disk.
Consequently, a disk player having such a structure can be miniaturized, as compared with the disk player having the structure in which the selected disk is pulled out and is played, because the necessity of the space for pulling out the disk is eliminated.
The conventional general disk chucking mechanism comprises a rotary driving portion rotated by a motor and a rotatable driven portion for pressing a disk from above, and enters a center hole of the disk from below. The thickness of the disk chucking mechanism having such a structure is increased because the rotatable driven portion for pressing the disk from above is required.
When the above-mentioned disk chucking mechanism is employed for the disk player having the structure in which the plates on which the disks are put are separated from each other upward and downward, therefore, the distance between the separated plates is increased, whereby the thickness of the disk player is increased, or the number of disks which can be loaded in the magazine is decreased.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 157859/1991 discloses a disk chucking mechanism having a structure in which the thickness thereof is decreased. The mechanism comprises a disk table, on which a disk provided with a center hole is put, rotated by a rotary driving mechanism, a fitting member arranged in the center of the disk table and fitted in the center hole of the disk, and a plurality of spherical members so disposed that they can retract into the fitting member and urged in the direction in which they protrude from the fitting member by an elastic member for pressing and supporting the disk put on the disk table against the disk table. It is considered that the disk chucking mechanism having such a structure is incorporated into the above-mentioned structure in which the plates are separated from each other upward and downward.
In the mechanism disclosed in the above-mentioned gazette, however, an inner side surface of the center hole of the disk must get over the spherical members in order to chuck the disk. For this purpose, a force for temporarily pressing the disk against the disk table is required. In the structure using the magazine, the force cannot be applied by a person. Therefore, the force must be applied by any mechanism. When such a structure is newly incorporated, the structure of the disk chucking mechanism becomes complicated.
Furthermore, in the disk player having the structure in which the plates in the magazine are separated from each other upward and downward, there is provided an arm for supporting and moving the disk chucking mechanism in order that the disk chucking mechanism is positioned in the center hole of the disk in a separated state (playing time), while retracting from the disk in a non-separated state (non-playing time). In this case, the length of the arm is larger than the radius of the disk. A pickup and its moving mechanism are carried on the arm in addition to the disk chucking mechanism. Further, the disk is put thereon at the time of playing. When a mechanism for rotating the arm by a supporting shaft provided at its one end is employed, the arm is slightly inclined when the disk is put thereon. If the amount of rise of the disk in a case where the disk is raised from the plate is small, the disk may be brought into contact with the plate. Further, the arm easily vibrates because it is supported on one side. When the vibration is increased due to the occurrence of resonance, focusing and tracking in the pickup may be interfered with.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumferences and has for its object to provide a disk chucking mechanism having a small thickness and having a structure simplified by obtaining a driving force for clamping and unclamping a disk from the existing mechanism, and improve the reliability or the like of a disk player having a structure in which plates in a magazine are separated from each other upward and downward.
A disk chucking mechanism according to the present invention is characterized in that a claw member so provided as to protrude and retract from the upper surface of a disk table rotated by rotary driving means for clamping a disk through its center hole at the time of the protrusion, while unclamping the disk at the time of the retraction performs a clamping/unclamping operation in synchronism with pickup moving means for moving a pickup.
In the above-mentioned structure, the claw member protrudes and retracts from the upper surface of the disk table to clamp the disk, eliminating the necessity of a rotatable driven portion for pressing the disk from above, whereby the disk chucking mechanism can be made thin. A force for unclamping and clamping by the claw member is applied by the existing pickup moving means, whereby the structure of the disk chucking mechanism can be simplified, as compared with a structure in which there is provided a mechanism for applying a driving force for unclamping and clamping apart from the pickup moving means.
More specifically, a disk chucking mechanism comprises a disk table, on which a disk provided with a center hole is put, rotated by rotary driving means, a claw member so provided as to protrude and retract from the upper surface of the disk table for clamping the disk through the center hole at the time of the protrusion, while unclamping the disk at the time of the retraction, a chuck movable portion slidably provided along the axis of rotation of the disk table for causing the claw member to protrude and retract by the sliding, urging means for urging the chuck movable portion in the direction in which the claw member protrudes, pickup moving means for moving a pickup, and a chuck control mechanism moved upon being pressed by a pressing member provided in the pickup in the position where the pickup is in close proximity to the disk table for sliding the chuck movable portion in the direction in which the claw member retracts.
In a disk player comprising a magazine containing a plurality of plates in which a plurality of disks are loaded one at a time, a pickup arm which is equipped with a disk table, a disk chucking mechanism and a pickup, movement driving means for driving the movement of the pickup arm, and plate separating means for moving the plates upward and downward to enter a state where the pickup arm can enter the magazine, a disk player according to the present invention is characterized by comprising vibration restraining means for holding the disk positioned below the pickup arm in synchronism with the movement of the pickup arm toward the plates (toward the-position for reproduction).
In this structure, even in cases such as a case where the disk player is used as an on vehicle equipment, it is possible to prevent the situations where the disk positioned below the pickup arm jumps by the vibration of a vehicle to come into contact with the pickup arm because the vibration restraining means is provided.
A disk player includes a magazine containing a plurality of plates in which a plurality of disks are loaded one at a time. A pickup arm is equipped with a disk table, a disk chucking mechanism, a pickup, movement driving means for driving the movement of the pickup arm, and plate separating means for moving the plates upward and downward to enter a state where the pickup arm can enter the magazine. A disk player according to the present invention includes a projection formed in a side part of each of the plates. The plate separating means includes a slide plate that slides backward and forward, the slide plate having a first sharp edge and a second sharp edge. The slide plate successively assumes various states. In a first state, the first sharp edge is caused to face the vicinity of a lower part of the projection of the plate on which the selected disk is put by a sliding operation. In a second state, the plate on which the selected disk is put and all the plates in steps above the plate are raised uppermost by the first sharp edge. In a third state, the plate on which the selected disk is put and all the plates in the steps above the plate are slightly lowered from the second state so as to put the selected disk onto the disk table, and the second sharp edge is caused to face the vicinity of a lower part of the projection of the plate in the step above the plate on which the selected disk is put. In a fourth state, the plate on which the selected disk is put is slightly lowered from the third state so as to separate the plate from the selected disk, while the plate in the step above the plate is raised from the third state by the second sharp edge.
In this construction, an operation for separating the plates (allowance of the entrance of the pickup arm), an operation for putting the disk on the disk table, and an operation for raising the disk from the plate can be continuously performed in this order by moving the slide plate in one direction, and the operations are continuously performed in the reverse order by moving the slide plate in the opposite direction.
In a disk player comprising a magazine containing a plurality of plates in which a plurality of disks are loaded one at a time, a pickup arm which is equipped with a disk table, a disk chucking mechanism and a pickup, rotary driving means for horizontally rotating the pickup arm with its one end pivoted, to move the pickup arm from the position where it is contained to the position for reproduction, and plate separating means for moving the plates upward and downward to enter a state where the pickup arm can enter the magazine, a disk player according to the present invention is characterized by further comprising restraining means for restraining the variation in the position of the pickup arm in the position for reproduction.
In this construction, it is possible to prevent the pickup arm from being inclined or vibrating at the time of the reproduction.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.